Unpacking academic practices: international students in management and education disciplines

This paper reports the findings of a qualitative case study that explores how international students in different disciplines struggle to interpret their disciplinary requirements. The study shows the emergence of five main forms of unpacking academic expectations that individual students in the study employed. It will be argued that these international students appear to be active and capable of drawing on various strategies and problem‐solving skills in order to take control of their academic life and enable them to participate in the academic practices of their discipline. The students' experiences also indicate that the interaction and dialogue they establish with their lecturers plays a significant role in their success in the course.

A quandary in management practice: Academic research or consulting?

This paper compares the practice of academic action research against management consulting. Consulting is founded upon a body of underpinning knowledge drawn from a different perspective than action research. Nevertheless, consulting and action research, in practice, draw from similar methods of investigation. The difficulty in distinguishing action research from consulting adds to unique ethical problems in practice. In this paper, an ethics quandary is identified, defined and explored with implications for research practice. An example of an action research project is presented to highlight the potential ethical dilemma and conflict of interest points of
the investigation, whether as an academic or a consultant. The authors, by crystallising the boundaries of academic action research and consulting posit that, when designed and executed well, risk can be minimised to gather rich and deep insights into management practice.

What counts as effective communication in nursing? Evidence from nurse educators' and clinicians' feedback on nurse interactions with simulated patients.

To examine the feedback given by nurse educators and clinicians on the quality of communication skills of nurses in interactions with simulated patients.

A metasynthesis of patient-provider communication in hospital for patients with severe communication disabilities: informing new translational research

Poor patient-provider communication in hospital continues to be cited as a possible causal factor in preventable adverse events for patients with severe communication disabilities. Yet to date there are no reports of empirical interventions that investigate or demonstrate an improvement in communication in hospital for these patients. The aim of this review was to synthesize the findings of research into communication in hospital for people with severe communication disabilities arising from lifelong and acquired stable conditions including cerebral palsy, autism, intellectual disability, aphasia following stroke, but excluding progressive conditions and those solely related to sensory impairments of hearing or vision. Results revealed six core strategies suggested to improve communication in hospital: (a) develop services, systems, and policies that support improved communication, (b) devote enough time to communication, (c) ensure adequate access to communication tools (nurse call systems and communication aids), (d) access personally held written health information, (e) collaborate effectively with carers, spouses, and parents, and (f) increase the communicative competence of hospital staff. Currently there are no reports that trial or validate any of these strategies specifically in hospital settings. Observational and evaluative research is needed to investigate the ecological validity of strategies proposed to improve communication.